My Gameday Epiphany

August 14, 2007

I have to admit, last night caught me a bit off guard. I hadn’t really thought much about what this blog would contain during a Broncos game. And, yes, I know I had all off-season to prepare game-day blogging strategies for My Denver Obsession, but in the end… I just watched the game.

I had originally thought about taking my laptop over to the sofa and doing up-to-the-minute blogging all during the game. I also thought about doing a half-time or post-game summary last night. But I had never (until last night) really taken the time to understand how I watch Denver football as a fan – and how that experience might not be very conducive to live game-blogging.

Everyone, I would assume, interacts differently with their favorite past time. And most people probably don’t think much about that interaction.

For me, game days are something I eagerly await. For example, everyone in my office on Monday knew (down to the minute usually) how many hours were left before kick off. Friends and family called to see where I was going to watch the game and if I was ‘doing anything special’ for the preseason kick off.

Right before the game I usually tune-in for the pre-game telecast. I can even get goose-bumps or teary-eyed when the announcers begin doing their usually emotional ramp up to the game with inspirational or heartbreaking background stories on individual players.

However, all that anticipation usually turns to tense nervousness around kick off time. By the time our offense or defense takes the field, I’m usually a wreck. It’s like watching a stage show from backstage – you know the script and all the players, but all you can do when the lights come up is hope they hit their marks, remember their lines and don’t actually break their legs.

I usually only use the front corner of the sofa cushion as I’m poised on the edge of my seat through everything but the commercials… well, that’s where I’m at when I’m not pacing the room. I also have to admit, I’m pretty vocal. Yes, I know no one but my very understanding wife (and my somewhat confused five-year-old foster daughter) can hear me, but I think it’s more of a way to release my tension than anything else.

I yell at the refs when they make a bad call. I shout when we get a first down. I curse when our QB gets intercepted. I chant the player’s name if they break tackles and tear into the secondary. And once, my wife thought I had a heart attack during a certain play off game against the Colts when she found me on the living room floor…

What – like you didn’t cry about that loss!?

The point of all this introspection is that I realized last night that I would not be providing a minute-to-minute blogging experience here. If you are interested in that sort of detailed account of the game I would suggest checking out Andrew Mason’s blog. Or, for a fan perspective, I would strongly recommend Kmonty over at BroncoTalk (a totally awesome Bronco blog). Both of these, and several others around the web, can give you an in-game fix (or provide an alternative way to get the latest game updates if you’re without a TV).
Here, in this little corner of the web however, I think my pre-game-posts will primarily be about things I look forward to seeing in the upcoming game and my post-game reports will likely be about my personal fan experience and my feelings about the game.

I can’t promise that these will be minutes after the last whistle. Sometimes, like last night, I spend a lot of time thinking about the game and trying to digest all that happened before I feel comfortable talking about (or writing) about it.

So, there you have it. You’ll get my game blog entry soon, but until then I wanted to let you know why you were waiting… and what you can expect when it arrives.